How to Spread your brand on Instagram ?

Do you know how to use Instagram to market your business? Do you get enough interaction with your brand? Do you know how to get more followers on Instagram?

There are more than 400 million active users on Instagram every month, and every day 3.5 billion photos are liked. Use Instagram for business purposes in the right way, and you could have an instant viral marketing success. Use it wrong, and your efforts on the site could be a big empty fail.

Whether you are new, you want to find out how to get more Instagram followers or just want a few more pointers, we’ve put together 52 tips to market your brand more authentically on Instagram.

Create Up Your Instagram Account

1. Create your Instagram for Business account - It’s easy to make a business account on Instagram.

2. Make a business username - Use your business name as your username. If it is taken, choose a username that is instantly recognized with your brand.

3. Complete your profile - Include a cool, branded photo, a short informative bio, and a link to your website.

4. Connect your account to Facebook - Instagram is owned by Facebook. Connect these two very powerful social media sites to boost your marketing efforts.

5. Make an Instagram tab on your Facebook page - this enables you to instantly share your Instagram photos to your Facebook Fans.

6. Create a brand specific strategy - Keep your Instagram content strategy focused on your brand’s unique way of seeing the world. Instagram is a photo (and now video) sharing site. Connect your business with your ‘tribe’ on Instagram in a consistent and particular visual way.

Using #Hashtags

7. Use hashtags (#’s) in your updates - Hashtags are a major part of Instagram. It’s a big way of how users can find you through their mobile Instagram searches. Unlike on other sites (such as Twitter), you’re not limited by character count. Include a few tags (but not too many - or you’ll look desperate) in your posts to get connected.

8. Use brand specific hashtags - Include your business name in some of your post hashtags. Also, use unique tags for particular marketing campaigns you run. For example, if you’re hosting a photo contest on Instagram, make a unique tag just for that campaign. This tactic both promotes your contest, and it gives your consumers a distinct tag to connect with others participants (so they can see their competition!).

9. Use general hashtags’s - Include general tags on your posts, to be found for your products or lifestyle posts. For example, if your business is a coffee shop, and you post an image of your scrumptious latte, include tags like #latte or even #coffee.

Focusing on Your Target Audience.

10. Make your followers famous  - Share followers photos on your social sites. Show your customers you appreciate them by acknowledging their cool photos, and share them with your Facebook fan or Twitter followers. NOTE: be sure to ask permission to use their photo first!

Starbucks is one of the top 3 brands on Instagram. They use this tactic frequently. Every few weeks they show appreciation for one their followers, by giving a shout out to cool image makers. The images include their products. They take it one step further by updating their Facebook covers, using the Instagram photos. Their fans love it.

11. Embed followers’ photos - Instagram now enables you to embed Instagram photos on your website and other sites. Use this, like Starbucks, to show cool images of your brand and product from your Instagram followers by embedding the entire post. Make sure you tell them you’re showcasing their image, to make them feel appreciated, and to get their permission to use it.

12. Like your Follower’s photos - Acknowledge your customers’ awesomeness by liking their photos - particularly if they include your product, or emulate your brand.

13. Comment on Followers’ photos - Engage with your consumers by commenting on cool product related photos they post.

14. Respond to comments on all your posts - If someone comments on your posts, respond to them. This is particularly true when then comment is a question, or even something negative about your brand.

15. @mention your customers - @mentioning is another huge part of Instagram. @mention your followers, your customers, and any other user with great photos of your products. You show appreciation for them, and you get to engage with your market.

Showing Your Stuff

21. Be creative with your photos - Use filters to enhance your photos. Use cool angles, lighting and other photography tricks - whether you hire a photographer, or learn a few tricks on your own. Use photoshop, Diptic, or photoshake to edit your pics, or combine a number of photos into one.

22. Make videos - Instagram now has short video capabilities. Use this to make 15 second videos on your Instagram feed.

23. Post photos and short videos of your products - take and post cool photos of your goods to share with Instagram users.

24. Show your products authentically - Show photos of your products as they are used in real life.

25. Show your brand story - post cool photos and videos to show your company’s core values and brand.

26. Launch a product live on Instagram - If you’re launching a new product, taking your music group on tour, or opening a new store, etc - do it live on Instagram. For example, the day you launch your product, make a few 15 second videos of you and staff behind the scenes preparing for the launch, and the actual launch with excited customers. Post this to Instagram.

Advanced Tactics

27. Ask for comments on your photos and videos - If you want more engagement on your posts, ask for it. Questions open up conversations. Ask your followers what they think of a new post you made, and more.

28. Ask questions about your business or products - Use questions to get your people talking about your business. For example, ask your Followers if they have used your product today. Add a unique hashtag and give your consumers a hub to share photos of how they used your goods with each other.